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Lafayette News

Lafayette-based hot air balloon company to relocate due to development

Company's launch site located at contested U.S. 287, Arapahoe corner

By Anthony Hahn

Staff Writer

Posted:
07/10/2016 03:00:00 PM MDT

Updated:
07/11/2016 10:14:16 AM MDT

Residents who live along the corner of U.S. 287 and Arapahoe Road are treated most mornings to the sight of hot air balloons rising above the bucolic east county landscape and against a scenic Rocky Mountain backdrop.

However, as the corner from where those balloons launch soon will host a slew of developments, Lafayette-based Fair Winds Hot Air Balloon Flights now looks to relocate to neighboring Erie as it is forced to seek open space.

"Eventually the surrounding property, as well as the property we sit on, will be developed," said Jeff Meeker, owner of Fair Winds. "With all of that going on around us, we are trying to look forward to the future and be proactive with our situation."

"Moving a little farther to the northeast just a hair would be perfect for us," he said.

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Though Meeker laments the possibility of having to move the launch site from Lafayette — where it has been located for the last six to seven years — his attempts to find a solution within Lafayette yielded no results.

"Part of the issue with keeping the site in Lafayette was that not all of the areas would have been super balloon friendly," he said. "We searched for awhile around the city and there just wasn't a good enough spot. I approached the town of Erie and asked if they had any interest. At this point, we are pursuing some solutions that work for all of us."

Residents passing by the vacant lot last week saw the property's first steps towards development — signs that read "Coming Soon! Nine Mile Corner" were erected along the road.

Despite the advertisements however, it could be a long time before any construction can begin, according to Tyler Carlson of Evergreen Devco, developer of the property.

"Groundbreaking for Nine Mile will not be this year," he said. "The process of zoning through the city will take the rest of 2016, at least. We do hope to break ground in 2017."

Though the process is still in its infancy, retailers have shown a strong interest in the development, Carlson said.

"We're fully engaged with our efforts with all seven of our sites, including Nine Mile Corner," Erie spokesman Fred Diehl said. "Without getting into specifics, I can say that many (businesses) are responding favorably."

The town is looking at grocers, restaurants — both sit-down and quick-serve — clothing stores, hotels and sporting goods for the site, according to Diehl.

Despite the conversation surrounding the corner over the past several months, the land has remained relatively untouched.

Just southwest of the Nine Mile site, Alabama-based developer Hix Snedeker Companies has heralded in a 31-acre commercial development known as the Lafayette Promenade.

The property has remained vacant since it was annexed into the city in 2004; primarily due to the restriction on sales-tax generating commercial uses that encumbered the property until the expiration of the East Central Boulder County Comprehensive Development Plan in 2014, according to a city staff report.

Members of the Lafayette Planning commission voted on June 28 to approve the development's preliminary plan. The plan includes a total of eight commercial lots, three out lots and right-of-way for the extension of Aspen Ridge Drive and Lucerne Drive, according to official city documents.

Three box stores, including a Tractor Supply, will sit on the western edge of the Lafayette Promenade development, with four smaller retailers lining U.S. 287.

On June 28, in further preparation for the mixed-use project, Erie's Board of Trustees awarded a contract for the demolition of existing structures at the Nine Mile Corner site in the amount of $65,713 to Denver-based Alpine Demolition.

While Fair Winds has been around more-than 25 years, its move to Lafayette several years ago was brought about by development as well.

"We used to fly out of Gunbarrel but had to move because of future development there," Meeker said. "Mainly because of development we had been looking for somewhere more east for the past six to seven years."

With the move to Erie, Meeker and Fair Winds will be in similar company, as the annual Erie Town Fair plays host to hundreds of balloon launches throughout the festival's weekend.

In addition to a 6 a.m. balloon launch from the Colorado National Golf course each morning, the festival featured more than 200 craft and food vendors, performances on stage by local groups and traditional carnival games at the Coal Creek Park, plus a car show hosted by the Garage Rats Car Club.

With development along that corner starting to take shape, Meeker hopes to find a new location within the next year or so.

"We're just trying to be more proactive," he said. "We see the writing on the wall that development is coming."

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